Conflict at Lake Hassan
“In July 1938, the Japanese command concentrated 3 infantry divisions, a mechanized brigade, a cavalry regiment, 3 machine-gun battalions and about 70 aircraft on the Soviet border on the Soviet border ... On July 29, Japanese troops suddenly invaded the territory of the USSR near the Bezymyannaya height, but were driven back. On July 31, the Japanese, using their numerical advantage, captured tactically important Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya heights. To defeat the Japanese troops that invaded the territory of the USSR, a reinforced 39th corps was allocated ... Near Lake Khasan Soviet army first time since civil war entered into battle with an experienced imperialist cadre army. The Soviet troops gained a certain experience in the use of aviation and tanks, and in the organization of artillery support for an offensive. For heroism and courage, the 40th Infantry Division was awarded the Order of Lenin, the 32nd Infantry Division and the Posietsky Border Detachment were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. 26 fighters were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union, 6.5 thousand people were awarded orders and medals” - this is how the international conflict on the Soviet-Japanese border is presented in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
When reading the above TSB article, one gets the impression that for the Red Army the battle on Lake Khasan was something like an exercise, as close as possible to combat conditions, and the experience she gained was extremely positive. Of course, this is a delusion. In fact, everything was not so simple.
During the 1930s, the situation in the Far East gradually heated up. By capturing Manchuria and invading Central China, Japan turned out to be a neighbor of the USSR and "set its sights" on the Soviet Primorye. A large group of troops was concentrated here, the samurai from time to time staged provocations on the border, repeatedly violating it. Even 5 months before the start of the conflict, intelligence officer Richard Sorge warned Moscow about the impending Japanese attack. And he was not wrong.
The first armed incident between the border guards of the Soviet Union and Japanese soldiers occurred on July 15, 1938, when a group of the latter crossed the border and began photographing military fortifications. Fire was opened on the violators, in response to this, the Japanese captured Mount Sirumi. The situation was becoming critical, but the reaction of the Soviet command was inadequate. The border troops received an order: "Do not open fire." Fulfilling it, they did not respond to the shelling of the detachment by the Japanese in the area of the border sign No. 7. In the meantime, the samurai continued to build up their forces, which by July 28 amounted to 13 infantry battalions with artillery. The Soviet side could only oppose this force with 3 battalions. In such a situation, the command of the frontier outposts began to ask for reinforcements, which was refused. Marshal Blucher commented on this as follows: “The border guards themselves got involved. Let them get out on their own."
We really had to "get out" ourselves. On July 29, a battle broke out at the height of Bezymyannaya, in which the border guards had to retreat. For an hour, 11 Soviet soldiers held the line and withdrew only after the death of 5 comrades. Reinforcements arrived in time from two border groups "saved" the situation: the advancing Japanese were thrown back beyond the border line. Only then was the order given: "Immediately destroy the Japanese advancing on the Zaozernaya height without crossing the border." This significantly hampered the actions of the border guards. On the night of July 31, as a result of the attack, the Japanese captured the Zaozernaya height, as well as the Bezymyanny, Chernaya, and Bogomolnaya heights. The losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 93 people killed and 90 wounded.
The conflict ceased to be a frontier incident. Only towards the end of the day on August 1, reinforcements arrived, but the conditions in which the troops were placed seriously hampered the fulfillment of the combat mission. The advancing Soviet units were squeezed between the border line and Lake Khasan, which put them under Japanese flanking fire. Following the order, the border guards could not use either aircraft or artillery. It is not surprising that in such a disadvantageous position, the attack of the Soviet troops bogged down.
Immediately they began to prepare a new offensive, and this time the command allowed them to operate also on enemy territory. The assault on the Zaozernaya height was carried out by the forces of the 39th Rifle Corps and lasted 5 days - from August 6 to 11. The task was completed, the Japanese were thrown back abroad. Immediately after the end of the assault, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR gave the order to end hostilities. The victory was won, the provocations at the border stopped. The conflict ended, the Japanese were rebuffed, but the miscalculations made were worth analyzing more carefully.
So, for example, the reinforcements that arrived were not fully staffed: in some battalions there were only 50% of their headcount. Artillery did not count the prescribed ammunition. Logistic support was poorly organized. The field hospital arrived at the scene of hostilities seven days late, and only three of the prescribed doctors arrived. In addition to all this, Soviet military leaders made decisions only after their approval in Moscow. Of course, in the latter case, it is not so much individual commanders who are to blame, but the excessive centralization and fear of taking initiative and responsibility that dominated the country and the army.
The fighting on Lake Khasan cost the Red Army 472 men killed, 2981 wounded and 93 missing. But in fact, the consequences of the mistakes made and then uncorrected were much worse. As the head of the Far Eastern Directorate of the NKVD later noted, the victory was achieved "only due to the heroism and enthusiasm of the personnel of the units, the fighting impulse of which was not ensured by the high organization of the battle and the skillful use of numerous military equipment." The experience of 1938 was not sufficiently taken into account both from the point of view of the organization of the army and from the point of view of the tactics of conducting modern combat. It is no coincidence that the Red Army will make similar miscalculations in the summer of 1941. If all the mistakes of the fighting on Lake Khasan were taken into account, the consequences of the first months of the Great Patriotic War might not have been so tragic for the Soviet people.
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This armed conflict between the USSR and Japan matured gradually. Japan's policy in the Far East did not imply an improvement in relations with the Soviet Union. The aggressive policy of this country in China carried a potential threat to the security of the USSR. Having captured the whole of Manchuria in March 1932, the Japanese created a puppet state there - Manchukuo. The Japanese Minister of War, General Sadao Araki, said on this occasion: “The State of Manjugo (so in Japanese Manzhou-Go - M.P.) is nothing more than the brainchild of the Japanese army, and Mr. Pu Yi is his dummy.” In Manchukuo, the Japanese began to build military infrastructure and increase the size of their army. The USSR sought to maintain normal relations with Japan. At the end of December 1931, he proposed to conclude a Soviet-Japanese non-aggression pact, but a year later he received a negative answer. The capture of Manchuria fundamentally changed the situation on the CER. The road ended up in the zone of direct control of the Japanese armed forces.
Provocations were organized on the road: damage to the tracks, raids to rob trains, the use of trains to transport Japanese troops, military supplies, etc. The Japanese and Manchurian authorities began to openly encroach on the CER. Under these conditions, in May 1933, the Soviet government expressed its readiness to sell the CER. Negotiations on this issue were held in Tokyo for 2.5 years. The problem was the price. The Japanese side believed that in the current situation, the USSR was ready to give way under any conditions. After lengthy negotiations that lasted more than 20 months, on March 23, 1935, an agreement was signed on the sale of the CER under the following conditions: Manchukuo pays 140 million yen for the CER; 1/3 of the total amount must be paid in cash, and the rest - in the supply of goods from Japanese and Manchurian firms on Soviet orders within 3 years. In addition, the Manchurian side had to pay 30 million yen to the dismissed Soviet employees of the road. On July 7, 1937, a new Japanese invasion of China began, the capture of which was seen as the threshold of a war against the Soviet Union. Tension has increased on the Far Eastern border.
If earlier the main violators on the border were the armed detachments of white emigrants and the so-called white Chinese, now Japanese military personnel are becoming more and more violators. In 1936-1938, 231 violations of the state border of the USSR were registered, of which 35 were major military clashes. This was accompanied by the loss of border guards, both from the Soviet and from the Japanese side. Japan's aggressive policy in China and the Far East forced the Soviet Union to strengthen its defenses. On July 1, 1938, the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army (OKDVA) was transformed into the Red Banner Far Eastern Front. Marshal of the Soviet Union V.K. was appointed its commander. Blucher. The front consisted of two combined arms armies - the 1st Primorsky and 2nd Separate Red Banner, commanded by brigade commander K.P. Podlas and commander I.S. Konev. The 2nd Air Army was created from the Far Eastern Aviation. 120 defensive regions were being built in the most threatened directions. Until the end of 1938, the number of privates and officers was to be 105,800 people. The military conflict between the two states arose at the southernmost tip of the state border - at the previously unknown Lake Khasan, surrounded by a ridge of hills, just 10 kilometers from the coast of the Sea of Japan, and in a straight line - 130 kilometers from Vladivostok. Here the borders of the USSR, the puppet state of Manchukuo and Korea, occupied by the Japanese, converged.
On this section of the border, two hills played a special role - Zaozernaya and its neighbor from the north - Bezymyanny Hill, along the tops of which the border with China passed. From these hills it was possible to view in detail the coast, railways, tunnels, and other structures adjacent to the border without any optical instruments. From them, direct artillery fire could fire on the entire section of Soviet territory south and west of Posyet Bay, and threaten the entire coast in the direction of Vladivostok. This is what caused the special interest of the Japanese in them. The immediate reason for the outbreak of an armed conflict was the border incident on July 3, 1938, when Japanese infantrymen (nearly a company) advanced to a border detachment of two Red Army soldiers on Zaozernaya Hill. Without firing any shots, the Japanese detachment left this place a day later and returned to the Korean settlement, located 500 meters from the hill, and began to build fortifications. On July 8, the Soviet reserve frontier outpost occupied the Zaozernaya hill, established a permanent border guard, thereby declaring it Soviet territory. Here they began to build trenches and barbed wire. The measures of the Soviet border guards, in turn, caused the escalation of the conflict in the following days, since both sides considered the hills to be their territory.
On July 15, Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs B.S. Stomonyakov, in a conversation with Charge d'Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in the USSR, Nishi, tried to document the question of the legality of the presence of Soviet border guards on the shores of Lake Khasan and at the height of Zaozernaya. Stomonyakov, relying on the Hunchun Protocol signed between Russia and China on June 22, 1886, as well as on the map attached to it, proved that Lake Khasan and some areas west of these shores belong to the Soviet Union. In response, the Japanese diplomat demanded to remove the Soviet border guards from the height of Zaozernaya. The situation seriously escalated on July 15, when Lieutenant V.M. Vinevitin killed the Japanese intelligence officer Sakuni Matsushima, who was on the Zaozernaya hill. This provoked a massive violation of the section of the border guarded by the Posyet border detachment. The violators were the Japanese - "postmen", each of whom had a letter to the Soviet authorities with a demand to "cleanse" the Manchurian territory. On July 20, 1938, the Japanese ambassador to Moscow Mamoru Segemitsu at a reception at the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs M.M. Litvinova, on behalf of his government, demanded the withdrawal of Soviet border guards from the Zaozernaya hill because of its belonging to Manchukuo.
At the same time, the ambassador in an ultimatum stated that if this territory is not liberated voluntarily, then it will be liberated by force. In response, on July 22, the Soviet government sent a note to the Japanese government, which rejected the demands of the Japanese side for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the height of Zaozernaya. Commander of the Far Eastern Front V.K. Blucher tried to avoid a military conflict. He proposed to “exhaust” the border conflict by recognizing as a mistake the actions of Soviet border guards who dug trenches and carried out simple sapper work not on their territory. The “illegal” commission he created on July 24 established that part of the Soviet trenches and wire fences on the Zaozernaya hill were installed on the Manchurian side.
However, neither Moscow nor Tokyo wanted to hear about a peaceful, diplomatic settlement of the border conflict. Blucher, by his actions, caused Stalin and the People's Commissar of Defense K.E. Voroshilov doubts whether he is able to decisively fight and follow the instructions of the country's leadership. On July 29, Japanese troops, up to an infantry company, launched an offensive to capture the top of the Bezymyannaya hill, where the Soviet garrison, consisting of 11 people, was located. The Japanese managed to capture the height for a short time. Six out of 11 border guards survived. The head of the outpost, Alexei Makhalin, who became a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union, also died. Having received reinforcements, the height was again at the Soviet border guards. The Japanese command brought up large artillery forces and the 19th Infantry Division in order to capture both hills - Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya. On the night of July 31, the Japanese regiment, with the support of artillery, attacked Zaozernaya, and then Bezymyanny. By the end of the day, these heights were captured, and within three days trenches, dugouts, firing positions, barbed wire were built there. The commander of the 40th Rifle Division of the Far Eastern Front made a decision - on August 1, to attack the enemy on the heights and restore the status quo on the border. However, the commanders fought on the maps that were compiled by the cartographic division of the NKVD marked "top secret".
These maps were deliberately made with changes, that is, they did not reflect the actual geography of the area. These were "cards for foreign tourists". They did not indicate marshy places, and the roads were indicated completely different. When hostilities began, Soviet artillery bogged down in the swamps and was shot by the Japanese with direct fire from the commanding heights. The artillerymen suffered especially heavy losses. The same thing happened with tanks (T-26). On August 1, in a telephone conversation with the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Blucher, Stalin sharply criticized him for commanding the operation. He was forced to ask the commander a question: “Tell me, Comrade Blucher, honestly, do you have a desire for real fight the Japanese? If you do not have such a desire, say it directly, as befits a communist, and if you have a desire, I would think that you should go to the place immediately. August 3 People's Commissar of Defense K.E. Voroshilov decided to entrust the leadership of military operations in the area of Lake Khasan to the chief of staff of the Far Eastern Front, commander G.M. Stern, appointing him at the same time commander of the 39th Rifle Corps. By this decision, V.K. Blucher was actually removed from the direct leadership of hostilities on the state border. The 39th Rifle Corps included the 32nd, 40th, and 39th Rifle Divisions and the 2nd Mechanized Brigade. Directly in the area of hostilities, 32 thousand people were concentrated; on the Japanese side, there was the 19th Infantry Division, numbering about 20 thousand people. It should be noted that there was still an opportunity to end the military conflict near Lake Khasan by peaceful negotiations. Tokyo understood that there would be no quick victory. And the main forces of the Japanese army at that time were not in Manchukuo, but were conducting military operations against Chiang Kai-shek in China. Therefore, the Japanese side sought to end the military conflict with the USSR on favorable terms. On August 4 in Moscow, Japanese Ambassador Segemitsu informed M.M. Litvinov about the desire to resolve the conflict through diplomacy.
Litvinov stated that this was possible provided that the situation that existed before July 29, that is, before the date when the Japanese troops crossed the border and began to occupy the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya heights, is restored. The Japanese side offered to return to the border before July 11 - that is, before the appearance of Soviet trenches on the top of Zaozernaya. But this no longer suited the Soviet side, as protest rallies were held throughout the country, demanding to curb the aggressor. In addition, the leadership of the USSR, headed by Stalin, had the same sentiments. The offensive of the Soviet troops on the positions of the Japanese, in whose hands were the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills, began on August 6 at 16:00. The first blow was delivered by Soviet aviation - 180 bombers under the cover of 70 fighters. 1592 air bombs were dropped on enemy positions. On the same day, the 32nd Rifle Division and a tank battalion advanced on Bezymyannaya Hill, and the 40th Rifle Division, reinforced by a reconnaissance battalion and tanks, advanced on Zaozernaya Hill, which was captured after two days of fierce fighting on August 8, and on August 9 they captured Bezymyannaya Hill . Under these conditions, the Japanese ambassador Segemitsu sued for peace.
On the same day, an armistice agreement was signed. Hostilities ceased on August 11 at 12 noon. Two hills - Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, because of which a military conflict broke out between the two states, were assigned to the USSR. Until now, there is no exact data on the number of losses of the Red Army. According to declassified official data, during the fighting on Lake Khasan, irretrievable losses amounted to 717 people, 75 were missing or captured; 3279 were wounded, shell-shocked, burned or ill. On the Japanese side, there were 650 dead and 2,500 wounded. Commander of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front V.K. Blucher was removed from his post and soon repressed. 26 combatants became Heroes of the Soviet Union; 95 - awarded the Order of Lenin; 1985 - Order of the Red Banner; 4 thousand - the Order of the Red Star, medals "For Courage" and "For Military Merit". The government has established a special badge "Participant of the Khasan battles." It was also awarded to home front workers who helped and supported the soldiers. Along with the courage and heroism of the soldiers and, the Khasan events also showed something else: poor training of command personnel. Voroshilov’s secret order No. 0040 stated: “The events of these few days have revealed huge shortcomings in the state of the KDV front. The combat training of the troops, staffs and commanding staff of the front turned out to be at an unacceptably low level. The military units were pulled apart and unfit for combat; the supply of military units is not organized. It was found that the Far Eastern Theater was poorly prepared for this war (roads, bridges, communications) ... ".
Polynov M.F. USSR/Russia in local wars and
armed conflicts of the XX-XXI centuries. Tutorial. - St. Petersburg,
2017. - Publishing house Info-Da. – 162 p.
A kind of preface to the upcoming Sino-Japanese war was a cascade of limited territorial seizures carried out by the troops of the Imperial Japanese Army in northeast China. Formed in 1931 on the Kwantung Peninsula, the Kwantung Group of Forces (Kanto-gun) in September of the same year, having staged a provocation with undermining the railway near Mukden, launched an offensive against Manchuria. Japanese troops briskly rushed deep into Chinese territory, capturing one city after another: Mukden, Jirin, Qiqihar fell successively.
Japanese soldiers pass by Chinese peasants.
By that time, the Chinese state had already existed for the third decade in conditions of unceasing chaos. The fall of the Manchu Qing Empire during the Xinhai Revolution of 1911-1912 opened a series of civil strife, coups and attempts by various non-Han territories to break away from the Middle Power. Tibet actually became independent, the separatist Uighur movement did not stop in Xinjiang, where in the early 30s even the East Turkestan Islamic Republic arose. Outer Mongolia and Tuva separated, where the Mongolian and Tuva People's Republics were formed. And in other areas of China there was no political stability. As soon as the Qing dynasty was overthrown, a struggle for power began, punctuated by ethnic and regional conflicts. The South fought with the North, the Han Chinese massacred the Manchus. After the unsuccessful attempt by the first President of the Republic of China, the commander of the Beiyang Army, Yuan Shikai, to restore the monarchy with himself as emperor, the country was drawn into a maelstrom of strife between various militarist cliques.
Sun Yat-sen is the father of the nation.
In fact, the only force that really fought for the reunification and revival of China was the Zhongguo Kuomintang (Chinese National People's Party), founded by the outstanding political theorist and revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. But the Kuomintang was definitely not strong enough to subdue all the regional juntas. After the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925, the position of the National People's Party was complicated by a confrontation with the Soviet Union. Sun Yat-sen himself strove for rapprochement with Soviet Russia, hoping with its help to overcome the fragmentation and foreign enslavement of China, to achieve for him a proper place in the world. On March 11, 1925, the day before his death, the founder of the Kuomintang wrote: "The time will come when the Soviet Union, as best friend and an ally, will welcome a mighty and free China when, in the great battle for the freedom of the oppressed nations of the world, both countries go forward hand in hand and achieve victory".
Chiang Kai-shek.
But with the death of Sun Yat-sen, the situation changed dramatically. Firstly, the Kuomintang itself, which, in fact, represented a coalition of politicians of various persuasions, from nationalists to socialists, began to split into different groups without its founder; secondly, the Kuomintang commander Chiang Kai-shek, who actually led the Kuomintang after the death of Sun Yat-sen, soon began to fight against the communists, which could not but lead to an aggravation of Soviet-Chinese relations and resulted in a number of border armed conflicts. True, Chiang Kai-shek was able, having carried out the Northern Expedition of 1926-1927, at the very least to unite most of China under the rule of the Kuomintang government in Nanking, but the ephemeral nature of this unification was not in doubt: Tibet remained uncontrolled, in Xinjiang centrifugal processes only increased, and cliques of militarists in the north retained strength and influence, and their loyalty to the Nanjing government remained in best case declarative.
Soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang.
Under such conditions, there is nothing surprising in the fact that China, with its half a billion population, could not put up a serious rebuff to Japan, poor in terms of raw materials, with a population of 70 million. In addition, if Japan underwent modernization after the Meiji Restoration and had an industry that was outstanding by the standards of the Asia-Pacific region of that time, then it was not possible to industrialize in China, and the Republic of China was almost entirely dependent on foreign supplies in obtaining modern equipment and weapons. As a result, a striking inequality in the technical equipment of the Japanese and Chinese troops was observed even at the lowest, elementary level: if the Japanese infantryman was armed with the Arisaka magazine rifle, then the infantrymen of the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang in the mass had to fight with pistols and dadao blades, reception the latter were often made in artisanal conditions. There is no need to even talk about the difference between opponents in more complex types of equipment, as well as in organizational terms and military training.
Chinese soldiers with dadao.
In January 1932, the Japanese took the cities of Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan, approaching the eastern tip of the Great Chinese Wall and having mastered almost the entire territory of Manchuria. Having occupied the Manchurian territory, the Japanese immediately ensured the seizure politically by organizing the All-Manchurian Assembly in March 1932, which announced the creation of the state of Manchukuo (Manchurian State) and elected as the ruler of the last monarch of the Qing Empire, who was overthrown in 1912, Aisingero Pu Yi, since 1925 years under Japanese patronage. In 1934, Pu Yi was proclaimed emperor, and Manchukuo changed its name to Damanchukuo (Great Manchurian Empire).
Aisingero Pu I.
But no matter what names the "Great Manchurian Empire" took, the essence of this sham state formation remained obvious: the loud name and the pretentious title of the monarch were nothing more than a translucent screen, behind which the Japanese occupation administration was quite clearly guessed. The falsity of Damanzhou-Digo was visible in almost everything: for example, in the State Council, which was the center of political power in the country, each minister had a Japanese deputy, and in fact these Japanese deputies carried out the policy of Manchuria. The true supreme power of the country was the commander of the Kwantung Group of Forces, who at the same time held the post of Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo. The Manchurian Imperial Army also existed pro forma in Manchuria, organized from the remnants of the Chinese Northeastern Army and largely staffed by the Honghuzi, who often came to military service only to obtain funds for their usual craft, that is, banditry; having acquired weapons and equipment, these newly minted "soldiers" deserted and joined the gangs. Those who didn't desert or riot usually wallowed in drunkenness and opium smoking, and many military units quickly turned into dens. Naturally, the combat effectiveness of such "armed forces" tended to zero, and the Kwantung Group of Forces remained a real military force on the territory of Manchuria.
Soldiers of the Manchurian Imperial Army on exercises.
However, not all of the Manchurian Imperial Army was a political decoration. In particular, it included formations recruited from Russian emigrants.
Here it is necessary to digress and again pay attention to the political system of Manchukuo. In this state formation, almost all internal political life was closed on the so-called "Manchukuo Consent Society", which by the end of the 30s was turned by the Japanese into a typical anti-communist corporatist structure, but one political group, with the permission and encouragement of the Japanese, kept aloof - they were white emigrants. In the Russian diaspora in Manchuria, not just anti-communist, but fascist views have long been rooted. In the late 1920s, Nikolai Ivanovich Nikiforov, a teacher at the Harbin Faculty of Law, formalized the Russian Fascist Organization, on the basis of which the Russian Fascist Party was established in 1931. general secretary which became a member of the RFO Konstantin Vladimirovich Rodzaevsky. In 1934, in Yokohama, the RFP merged with Anastasii Andreevich Vosnyatsky, formed in the USA, to form the All-Russian Fascist Party. The Russian fascists in Manchuria counted the chairman of the council of ministers among their forerunners. Russian Empire in 1906-1911 Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin.
In 1934, the "Bureau for the Affairs of Russian Emigrants in the Manchurian Empire" (hereinafter BREM) was formed in Manchuria, supervised by a major of the Imperial Japanese Army, assistant chief of the Japanese military mission in Harbin Akikusa Xiong, who participated in the intervention in Soviet Russia during the Civil War; in 1936 Akikusa joined the Japanese General Staff. Through the BREM, the Japanese closed the white emigrants in Manchuria to the command of the Kwantung Group of Forces. Under Japanese control, the formation of paramilitary and sabotage detachments from among the white emigrants began. In accordance with the proposal of Colonel Kawabe Torashiro, in 1936, the unification of the White émigré detachments into one military unit began. In 1938, the formation of this unit, named the Asano Detachment after its commander, Major Asano Makoto, was completed.
The formation of units from Russian fascists clearly demonstrated anti-Soviet sentiments in the Japanese elite. And this is not surprising, given the nature of the state regime that had developed by that time in Japan, especially since the Soviet Union, despite all the contradictions and conflicts with the Kuomintang, began to take steps towards supporting the Republic of China in the fight against Japanese intervention. In particular, in December 1932, at the initiative of the Soviet leadership, diplomatic relations with the Republic of China were restored.
The separation of Manchuria from China was the prologue to World War II. The Japanese elite made it clear that they would not be limited to Manchuria alone, and their plans were much larger and more ambitious. In 1933, the Empire of Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.
Japanese soldiers in Shanghai, 1937
In the summer of 1937, limited military conflicts finally escalated into a full-scale war between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly called on representatives of the Western powers to provide assistance to China, argued that only by creating a united international front could contain Japanese aggression, he recalled the Washington Treaty of 1922, which confirmed the integrity and independence of China. But all his appeals were not answered. The Republic of China found itself in conditions close to isolation. ROC Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui gloomily summed up China's pre-war foreign policy: "We've been relying too much on England and America all along".
Japanese soldiers deal with Chinese prisoners of war.
Japanese troops were rapidly advancing deep into Chinese territory, and already in December 1937, the capital of the republic, Nanjing, fell, where the Japanese committed an unprecedented massacre that ended the lives of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. Massive robberies, torture, rape and murder continued for several weeks. The march of Japanese troops across China was marked by countless fanaticism. In Manchuria, meanwhile, the activities of Detachment No. 731 of Lieutenant General Ishii Shiro, which was engaged in the development of bacteriological weapons and conducted inhuman experiments on people, were unfolding with might and main.
Lieutenant General Ishii Shiro, Commander of Detachment 731.
The Japanese continued to split China, creating political objects in the occupied territories that looked even less like states than Manchukuo. Thus, in Inner Mongolia, in 1937, the Principality of Mengjiang was proclaimed, headed by Prince De Wang Demchigdonrov.
In the summer of 1937, the Chinese government turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Soviet leadership agreed to the supply of weapons and equipment, as well as to the dispatch of specialists: pilots, artillerymen, engineers, tankers et cetera. On August 21, a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and the Republic of China.
Soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army of China on the Yellow River. 1938
The fighting in China was getting bigger and bigger. By the beginning of 1938, 800,000 soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army were fighting on the fronts of the Sino-Japanese War. At the same time, the position of the Japanese armies became ambiguous. On the one hand, the subjects of the Mikado won victory after victory, inflicting colossal losses on the troops of the Kuomintang and the regional forces supporting the Chiang Kai-shek government; but on the other hand, the breakdown of the Chinese armed forces did not occur, and gradually the Japanese ground forces began to get bogged down in hostilities on the territory of the Middle Power. It was becoming clear that a China of 500 million, even if it was lagging behind in industrial development, torn apart by strife and supported by almost no one, was too heavy an opponent for Japan of 70 million with its meager resources; even the amorphous, inert, passive resistance of China and its people created too much tension for the Japanese forces. Yes, and military successes ceased to be continuous: in the battle for Taierzhuang, which took place on March 24 - April 7, 1938, the troops of the National Revolutionary Army of China won the first major victory over the Japanese. According to available data, Japanese losses in this battle amounted to 2369 dead, 719 captured and 9615 wounded.
Chinese soldiers in the battle of Tai'erzhuang.
In addition, Soviet military assistance became more and more visible. Soviet pilots sent to China bombed communications and air bases of the Japanese, provided air cover for Chinese troops. On February 23, 1938, on the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, the raid of 28 SB bombers, led by Captain Fyodor Petrovich Polynin, on the port of Hsinchu and the Japanese airfield in the city of Taipei, located on the island Taiwan; Captain Polynin's bombers destroyed 40 Japanese aircraft on the ground, after which they returned safe and sound. This air raid shocked the Japanese, who did not expect the appearance of enemy aircraft over Taiwan. And Soviet assistance was not limited to the actions of aviation: samples of Soviet-made weapons and equipment were increasingly found in units and formations of the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang.
Of course, all of the above actions could not but arouse the wrath of the Japanese elite, and the views of the Japanese military leadership increasingly began to dwell on the northern direction. The attention of the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army to the borders of the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic has greatly increased. But still, the Japanese did not consider it possible for themselves to attack their northern neighbors without having a sufficient idea of their forces, and for a start they decided to test the defense capability of the Soviet Union in the Far East. All that was required was a reason that the Japanese decided to create in a way known from ancient times - by presenting a territorial claim.
Shigemitsu Mamoru, Japanese Ambassador to Moscow.
On July 15, 1938, the Japanese chargé d'affaires in the USSR reported to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs and officially demanded the withdrawal of Soviet border guards from the heights near Lake Khasan and the transfer of the territories adjacent to this lake to the Japanese. The Soviet side, in response, presented the documents of the Hunchun Agreement, signed in 1886 between the Russian and Qing empires, and the map attached to them, which exhaustively testified to the location of the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya heights on Russian territory. The Japanese diplomat left, but the Japanese did not calm down: on July 20, the Japanese ambassador to Moscow, Shigemitsu Mamoru, repeated the demands of the Japanese government, and already in an ultimatum form, threatening to use force if Japanese demands were not met.
Japanese infantry unit on the march near Lake Khasan.
By that time, the Japanese command had already concentrated 3 infantry divisions, separate armored units, a cavalry regiment, 3 machine-gun battalions, 3 armored trains and 70 aircraft near Khasan. The Japanese command assigned the main role in the coming conflict to the 20,000th 19th Infantry Division, which belonged to the Japanese occupying forces in Korea and was directly subordinate to the imperial headquarters. A cruiser, 14 destroyers and 15 military boats approached the area of the mouth of the Tumen-Ola River in order to support the Japanese ground forces. On July 22, 1938, the plan to attack the Soviet border received approval from the Shōwa (Hirohito) tenno himself.
Patrol of the Soviet border guards in the area of Lake Khasan.
The preparations of the Japanese for the attack did not go unnoticed by the Soviet border guards, who immediately began to build defensive positions and reported to the commander of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher. But the latter, without informing either the People's Commissariat of Defense or the government, on July 24 went to the Zaozernaya hill, where he ordered the border guards to fill up the dug trenches and move the installed wire fences away from the neutral zone. The border troops were not subordinate to the army leadership, which is why Blucher's actions can only be regarded as a gross violation of subordination. However, on the same day, the Military Council of the Far Eastern Front ordered the combat readiness of units of the 40th Infantry Division, one of whose battalions, along with the frontier post, was transferred to Lake Khasan.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher.
On July 29, the Japanese, with the forces of two companies, attacked the Soviet border post located on the Bezymyannaya hill with a garrison of 11 border guards and penetrated into Soviet territory; Japanese infantrymen occupied the height, but with the approach of reinforcements, the border guards and the Red Army threw them back. On July 30, the hills were shelled by Japanese artillery, and then, as soon as the gunfire subsided, the Japanese infantry again rushed to the attack, but the Soviet soldiers were able to repel it.
People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov.
On July 31, People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov ordered that the 1st Red Banner Army and the Pacific Fleet be put on alert. By that time, the Japanese, having concentrated two regiments of the 19th Infantry Division in the shock fist, captured the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills and advanced 4 kilometers deep into Soviet territory. Having good tactical training and considerable experience of military operations in China, the Japanese soldiers immediately secured the captured lines, detached the trenches of a full profile and installed wire barriers in 3-4 rows. The counterattack of two battalions of the 40th Infantry Division failed, and the Red Army men were forced to retreat to Zarechye and to Hill 194.0.
Japanese machine gunners in the battles near Lake Khasan.
In the meantime, on behalf of Blucher (for unclear reasons, who did not go on his own, and also refused to use aviation to support ground troops, justifying himself by his unwillingness to inflict damage on the Korean civilian population), Commander Grigory Mikhailovich Stern, chief of staff of the front, arrived at the place of hostilities, accompanied by the deputy people's commissar of defense of the army commissar Lev Zakharovich Mekhlis. Stern took command of the troops.
Commander Grigory Mikhailovich Stern.
Army Commissar Lev Zakharovich Mekhlis.
On August 1, units of the 40th Infantry Division were drawn to the lake. The concentration of forces dragged on, and in a telephone conversation between Blucher and the Main Military Council, Stalin directly asked Blucher: “Tell me honestly, Comrade Blucher, do you really want to fight the Japanese? place immediately".
Soviet machine gunners near Lake Khasan.
On August 2, Blucher, after a conversation with Stalin, left for the combat area, ordered to attack the Japanese without crossing the state border, and ordered additional forces to be brought up. The Red Army soldiers managed to overcome the wire obstacles with heavy losses and come close to the heights, but the Soviet riflemen did not have enough strength to take the heights themselves.
Soviet riflemen during the battles near Lake Khasan.
On August 3, Mekhlis reported to Moscow about Blucher's incompetence as a commander, after which he was removed from command of the troops. The task of inflicting a counterattack on the Japanese fell on the newly formed 39th Rifle Corps, which, in addition to the 40th Rifle Division, included the 32nd Rifle Division, the 2nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, and a number of artillery units moving towards the battle area. In total, the corps consisted of about 23 thousand people. It fell to Grigory Mikhailovich Stern to lead the operation.
The Soviet commander is watching the battle in the area of Lake Khasan.
On August 4, the concentration of forces of the 39th Rifle Corps was completed, and Commander Stern ordered an offensive in order to regain control over the state border. At four o'clock in the afternoon on August 6, 1938, as soon as the fog cleared over the banks of Khasan, Soviet aviation, using 216 aircraft, made a double bombardment of Japanese positions, and artillery carried out a 45-minute artillery preparation. At five o'clock, units of the 39th Rifle Corps moved to attack the Zaozernaya, Bezymyanny and Machine-gun hills. Fierce battles ensued for the heights and the surrounding area - on August 7 alone, the Japanese infantry made 12 counterattacks. The Japanese fought with merciless ferocity and rare tenacity, the confrontation with them demanded from the Red Army, who were inferior in tactical training and experience, outstanding courage, and from the commanders - will, self-control and flexibility. The slightest manifestations of panic were punished by Japanese officers without any sentimentality; in particular, Japanese artillery sergeant Toshio Ogawa recalled that when some Japanese soldiers fled during a bombardment arranged by red star planes, "three of them were immediately shot by officers of the headquarters of our division, and Lieutenant Itagi cut off the head of one with a sword".
Japanese machine gunners on a hill near Lake Khasan.
On August 8, units of the 40th Infantry Division captured Zaozernaya and began an assault on the Bogomolnaya height. The Japanese, meanwhile, tried to distract the attention of the Soviet command with attacks on other sections of the border, but the Soviet border guards were able to fight back on their own, frustrating the enemy's plans.
Artillerymen of the 39th Corps Artillery Regiment near Lake Khasan.
On August 9, the 32nd Infantry Division drove out the Japanese units from Bezymyannaya, after which the final ousting of the units of the Japanese 19th Infantry Division from Soviet territory began. In an attempt to contain the Soviet onslaught with barrage artillery fire, the Japanese deployed several batteries on an island in the middle of the Tumen-Ola River, but the mikado gunners lost the duel with the Soviet corps artillery.
The Red Army soldier watches the enemy.
On August 10, in Moscow, Shigemitsu was visited by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Maksimovich Litvinov with a proposal to start peace negotiations. During these negotiations, the Japanese launched about a dozen more attacks, but all with an unsuccessful outcome. The Soviet side agreed to a cessation of hostilities from noon on August 11, with units remaining in the positions they occupied at the end of August 10.
People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Maksimovich Litvinov.
Red Army soldiers are photographed at the end of the Khasan battles.
At half past two in the afternoon on August 11, the fighting on the shores of Lake Khasan subsided. The parties entered into a truce. On August 12-13, meetings of Soviet and Japanese representatives took place, at which the disposition of troops was clarified and the bodies of the fallen were exchanged.
The irretrievable losses of the Red Army, according to the study "Russia and the USSR in the wars of the XX century. Losses of the armed forces," amounted to 960 people, sanitary losses were estimated at 2,752 people wounded and 527 sick. Of the military equipment, the Soviet troops irretrievably lost 5 tanks, 1 gun and 4 aircraft (another 29 aircraft were damaged). Japanese losses, according to Japanese data, amounted to 526 dead and 914 wounded, there is also evidence of the destruction of 3 anti-aircraft guns and 1 armored train of the Japanese.
Warrior of the Red Army on top.
In general, the results of the battles on the banks of the Khasan completely satisfied the Japanese. They conducted reconnaissance in force and established that the troops of the Red Army, despite being more numerous and generally more modern than Japanese weapons and equipment, have extremely poor training and are practically unfamiliar with the tactics of modern combat. In order to defeat well-trained hardened Japanese soldiers in a local clash, the Soviet leadership had to concentrate an entire corps against one really operating Japanese division, not counting the border units, and ensure absolute superiority in aviation, and even under such favorable conditions for the Soviet side, the Japanese suffered fewer losses. The Japanese came to the conclusion that it was possible to fight against the USSR, and even more so the MPR, that the armed forces of the Soviet Union were weak. That is why the next year there was a conflict near the Mongolian Khalkhin Gol River.
However, one should not think that the Soviet side failed to derive any benefit from the clash in the Far East. The Red Army received practical combat experience, which very quickly became the object of study in Soviet military schools and military units. In addition, Blucher's unsatisfactory leadership of the Soviet armed forces in the Far East was revealed, which made it possible to carry out personnel changes and take organizational measures. Blucher himself, after being removed from his post, was arrested and died in prison. Finally, the battles at Khalkhin Gol clearly demonstrated that an army manned on the basis of a territorial-militia principle cannot be strong with any weapons, which became an additional incentive for the Soviet leadership to accelerate the transition to manning the armed forces on the basis of universal military duty.
In addition, the Soviet leadership derived from the Khasan battles a positive information effect for the USSR. The fact that the Red Army defended the territory, and the valor shown by the Soviet soldiers in many ways, increased the authority of the armed forces in the country and caused an upsurge in patriotic sentiments. Many songs were written about the battles on the banks of the Khasan, newspapers reported on the exploits of the heroes of the state of workers and peasants. State awards were given to 6532 participants in the battles, among them 47 women - wives and sisters of border guards. 26 conscientious citizens in the Khasan events became Heroes of the Soviet Union. You can read about one of these heroes here: AGAINST THE SITUATION
To attack the USSR, the aggressors chose the Posyetsky district in the Primorsky Territory, at the junction of the borders of the USSR, Manchukuo and Korea. The border area of the Posyetsky district is replete with lowlands and lakes, one of the lakes is Khasan, with the heights of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya adjacent to it.
52. Calculation of the heavy Japanese machine gun Type 92 (7.7-mm copy of the French Hotchkiss machine gun) fires at the positions of the Soviet border guards. Soviet-Manchurian border, summer 1938 (RGAKFD).
Lake Khasan and the heights surrounding it are only 10 km from the shores of the Pacific Ocean and 130 km in a straight line from Vladivostok. This is the southernmost part of Primorye. The heights offer a magnificent view of the Posyetsky Bay and the Tikhaya Bay. IN clear weather from them you can observe the entire Soviet coast. If the Japanese raiders had managed to keep these heights in their hands, they would have been able to keep under fire a section of Soviet territory south and west of Posiet Bay.
Here the terrain is a narrow coastal strip, then entirely swampy and low-lying. Movement on it is possible only along a few country roads and paths. A few hills rose above this swampy plain, dominating the area and giving a good overview. On the tops of two of them - Zaozernaya and neighboring Bezymyannaya, the line of the state border passed. From the hills, a view of the Posyetsky Bay opened, and their slopes descended to Lake Khasan. The Soviet-Korean border began very close, which ran along the Tumangan River.
Zaozernaya Sopka looked especially attractive from a military point of view in the Khasan sector. Its top was an almost regular truncated cone up to 200 meters wide at the base. The steepness of the slopes from the eastern, Soviet, side reached 10-15, and at the top - 45 degrees. The height of the hill reached 150 meters. The opposite, Japanese, slope of height reached in places a steepness of up to 85 degrees. Height dominated the area around Lake Khasan.
On the ground, Zaozernaya looked like an ideal observation post with excellent visibility on all four sides. In the event of a military clash, it could also become a good position for a defensive battle. Sopka during the war did not require any significant fortification work, since nature itself strongly strengthened it.
The nature of the terrain in the area of Lake Khasan significantly hampered the maneuverability of units of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front. Immediately after Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, the lake itself is located, stretching for 4.5 km from north to south, along the border. Thus, both hills are separated from the rest of the Soviet territory by a relatively wide water barrier, which can be bypassed on the way to the hills only in the immediate vicinity of the border along two very narrow corridors. This gave the Japanese great advantages. The Japanese also counted on the fact that the swampy terrain and the limited number of roads would not allow the Soviet command to make extensive use of tanks and artillery.
53, 54. Infantrymen of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Rifle Division practice combat coherence, being in the reserve of the advancing group. Zaozernaya height area, August 1938 (RGAKFD).
On July 3, to the height of Zaozernaya, on which there was a border detachment of two Red Army soldiers, a company of Japanese infantrymen moved forward. On an alarm signal, a group of border guards arrived from the outpost, led by Lieutenant Pyotr Tereshkin (later awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the battles on Lake Khasan). The Japanese deployed in a chain and with rifles at the ready, as if in an attack, moved to the heights. Before reaching the top of Zaozernaya, where the border line ran, about fifty meters, the Japanese chain, on the orders of the officers who walked with naked sabers in their hands, stopped and lay down.
The Japanese infantry detachment was at Zaozernaya for a whole day, unsuccessfully trying to cause a border incident. After that, the Japanese retreated to the Korean village of Homoku (on the territory of Manchukuo), which was located only 500 meters from the hill, and also began the construction of various outbuildings near the height, installed overhead line connections.
The order (permission) to occupy Zaozernaya came to the Posyet border detachment on July 8. The fact that the Soviet side decided to take the height, the Japanese learned from the radio interception of the order from Khabarovsk. The next day, the Soviet reserve frontier outpost, not numerous in its composition, secretly advanced to the heights and the construction of trenches and barbed wire began on its top.
Two days later, on the 11th, she received a boost. Commander OKDVA Marshal V.K. Blucher ordered to advance one company of the 119th Rifle Regiment to the area of Lake Khasan. In the event of an alarm and a serious violation of the state border near Zaozernaya, the army men could quickly come to the aid of the border guards. Such serious measure was by no means premature.
Blucher knew, among other things, that the southern section of the state border had been inspected from the other side by the commander of the Kwantung Army, General Ueda, and the Minister of War of Manchukuo, Yu Zhishan, two months earlier. The Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army reported the results of the inspection trip to Deputy Minister of War Tojo in Tokyo. The report dealt with the readiness of the Japanese troops for a military clash on the border with Soviet Primorye.
55, 58. Cavalry platoon of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Rifle Division named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, in ambush. Zaozernaya height area, August 1938 (AVL).
55, 57. Deputy commander of the Far Eastern Front for aviation brigade commander P.V. Leverage (pictured right). Pictures from the late 1930s (AVL).
On July 15, the first shot was fired on the Zaozernaya hill. In the evening of that day, a Japanese gendarme, Shakuni Matsushima, was killed by a shot from a rifle on the ridge of a height. He was shot by the head of the engineering service of the Posyet border detachment, Lieutenant V.M. Vinevitin, who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (during the fighting, the Japanese suffered considerable losses on the land mines he laid). An investigation into the tragic incident was promptly carried out by both sides. As determined Soviet investigation, the corpse of the Japanese violating gendarme lay on the territory of the Soviet Union, three meters from the state border line. The Japanese commission claimed the exact opposite: the murder took place on the territory of Manchukuo and, therefore, was an armed provocation by the Russian military.
Such was the essence of the Khasan conflict, which was followed by the bloody Khasan battles. Vinevitin's rifle shot detonated the passions of the Japanese side, which were already ready for an explosion, which believed that the sapper fortifications (trench and wire fence) of the Soviet border guards on the top of Zaozernaya had crossed the state border. In response, Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Stomonyakov officially stated that not a single Soviet border guard, and not a single inch, stepped on the adjacent land.
On July 18, a mass violation of the border section of the Posyet border detachment began. The violators were unarmed "Japanese postmen", each of whom carried a letter to the Soviet authorities demanding to "clear" the Manchurian territory. According to the memoirs of the commander of the border detachment K.E. Grebennik, the author of the book of memoirs "Khasan Diary", Japanese "postmen" literally "flooded" his headquarters. In just one day on July 18, twenty-three such violators with letters to the Soviet side were detained at the Quarantine outpost section.
"Postmen" were detained and after a short time were escorted out of Soviet territory in the opposite direction. But this was done according to international rules. Such a transfer of several "columns" of border violators - "postmen" to the Japanese side officially took place on July 26. They did not even receive a verbal response to their letters of protest.
On July 19 at 11.10 a.m., the deputy head of the Posyet border detachment had a direct conversation with a representative of the Military Council of the OKDVA: "Due to the fact that the Japanese command of Hunchun openly declares its intention to take the Zaozernaya height by battle, I ask from the support company located in Pakshekori, one send a platoon to reinforce the garrison of the Zaozernaya height. I am waiting for an answer at the wire. Deputy head of the detachment, Major Alekseev."
At 19.00 the answer came, (a conversation on a direct wire between the operational duty officers of the OKDVA headquarters and the Posyet border detachment. - Author's note):"The commander allowed me to take a platoon of a support company, bring it up secretly, and not succumb to provocations."
The next day, a message came to the headquarters of the Posyetsky border detachment from the department of the commander of the border and internal troops of the Far Eastern District about the cancellation of the previous decision of the army commander: “The platoon is removed by order of the commander. He believes that the border guards should be the first to fight, who, if necessary, will be provided with assistance and support by the army …"
On July 20, 1938, the Japanese Ambassador to Moscow Mamoru Shigemitsu at a reception at the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs M.M. Litvinov, on behalf of his government, in an ultimatum form, presented territorial claims to the USSR in the area of Lake Khasan and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Zaozernaya hill. Mamora Shigemitsu stated that "Japan has rights and obligations to Manchukuo, according to which it can resort to force and force the Soviet troops to evacuate the territory of Manchukuo they illegally occupied."
At the end of the conversation with Litvinov, Shigemitsu stated that if the Zaozernaya hill was not voluntarily transferred to Manchukuo, then the Japanese imperial army would use force. These words of the envoy from Tokyo sounded like a direct, undisguised threat from one state to another, its neighbor.
“If Mr. Shigemitsu,” said the head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry, M.M. Litvinov, “considers intimidation from a position of strength, before which individual states really succumb, is a weighty argument, then I must remind you that it will not find successful application in Moscow.”
On July 22, the Soviet government sent a note to the Japanese government, in which they directly and decisively rejected the unfounded demands for the withdrawal of troops from the height of Zaozernaya. And on the same day, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Japanese Empire approved a plan to eliminate the border incident at Lake Khasan with the forces of the imperial army. That is, Japan decided to test the strength of the Soviet Far Eastern border in the south of Primorye and the combat capabilities of the Red Army troops. Or, speaking in military terminology, Tokyo decided to conduct reconnaissance in force against the USSR.
Marshal V.K. Blucher had reliable data on the concentration of large Japanese army forces in the Posyet border detachment sector. This was evidenced even by a simple observation of border detachments over the adjacent side. On July 24, the Military Council of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front (KDF) issued a directive to the 1st Primorsky Army to immediately concentrate the reinforced battalions of the 118th and 119th rifle regiments of the 40th rifle division (commander - Colonel V.K. Bazarov) and squadron 121- th cavalry regiment in the area of the settlement of Zarechye and bring all the troops of the army (primarily the 39th rifle corps) to full combat readiness. The directive ordered the return of people from all economic and engineering work to their units.
By the same directive of the Military Council of the Far Eastern Front, the entire air defense system in Primorye was put on alert. These measures also affected the Pacific Fleet. The border guards were instructed by their command to remain calm and restraint, not to succumb to provocations from the neighboring side, and to use weapons only in case of direct violation of the state border.
59. Chief of Staff of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front (formed on the basis of OKVDA on July 1, 1938), commander G.M. Stern. Snapshot of the second half of the 30s (AVL).
60. Commander of the 2nd OKDVA (with headquarters in Khabarovsk), commander I.S. Konev. This army in the period of July-October 1938 was part of the troops of the Far Eastern Front. A snapshot of the late 1930s (AVL).
On the same day, on the 24th, Marshal V.K. Blucher sent the Zaozernaya "illegal" commission to the heights to clarify on the spot the circumstances of the border incident "puffed" with war. The commission established that part of the Soviet trenches and barbed wire on the hill - on its crest - is located on the adjacent side. Blucher reported this to Moscow, offering to "exhaust" the border conflict by admitting the mistake of the Soviet border guards who were digging a trench, and by simple sapper work. The commander of the Far Eastern Front, Marshal V.K. Blucher, for his part, made, I think, an attempt to "seat" the conflicting parties in the rank of high-ranking diplomats to the negotiating table in order to settle an ordinary border incident. However, neither Moscow nor Tokyo no longer wanted to hear about this.
Moreover, sending an "illegal" commission soon cost its initiator dearly. Marshal of the Soviet Union V.K. Blucher will be arrested and repressed. A secret order of the people's commissar of defense, also a marshal from their first five, K.E., sheds light on his fate. Voroshilov No. 0040 of September 4, 1938. This document stated: “... He (Marshal Blucher) quite unexpectedly on July 24 questioned the legality of the actions of our border guards near Lake Khasan. Secretly from the member of the military council comrade Mazepov, his chief of staff comrade Stern, deputy commissar of defense comrade Mehlis and Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, Comrade Frinovsky, who was at that time in Khabarovsk, Comrade Blucher sent a commission to the Zaozernaya height and, without the participation of the head of the border station, investigated the actions of our border guards. meters and, consequently, "established" our "guilt" in the outbreak of a military conflict on Lake Khasan. In view of this, Comrade Blucher sends a telegram to the People's Commissar of Defense about this alleged violation of the Manchurian border by us and demands the immediate arrest of the head of the border station and other "culprits in provoking the conflict" with the Japanese This telegram was sent by Comrade Blucher also secretly from the enumerated comrades loftier above…"‹8›
Blucher did not calm down in his desire to "get to the bottom" of the truth of the brewing military conflict on the state border. On July 27, by order of the marshal, a new commission went to the Zaozernaya area to investigate the fact of violation of the border by the Soviet side. But halfway through the commission was returned back to the city of Voroshilov (now Ussuriysk).
The day before, on July 26 at 23.30, the head of the Posyet border detachment, Colonel Grebennik, reported to his superiors via a direct wire: "... The detachment is not able to ensure the constant defense of all heights with its own forces, especially since the border runs along the ridges everywhere. Transition to the defense of the heights forces of outposts will violate the protection of the border, will not give a full guarantee against breaking through the border ... "
The next day, A. Fedotov, deputy head of the troops of the Far Eastern Border District, arrived in the village of Posyet to investigate the facts of violation of the state border and the murder of a Japanese gendarme on the Zaozernaya hill. However, nothing could stop the start of hostilities near Lake Khasan.
By the evening of July 28, 1938, units and subunits of the 75th Infantry Regiment from the first echelon of the 19th Japanese Infantry Division took up battle formation in the Lake Khasan area.
61. Infantrymen of the 32nd Saratov Rifle Division are preparing to attack Japanese positions. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (AVL).
The Soviet command took measures to protect the outposts from a sudden attack by the Japanese: permanent observation posts were established on Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, a reserve outpost of S. Ya. Nameless.
62. Infantry and cavalry platoon of the 40th Rifle Division named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze practice offensive combat techniques before the start of the attack on Japanese positions. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (AVL).
63. The commander of the tank company of the 2nd mechanized brigade, Lieutenant K.H. Egorov. The order of the (combat) Red Banner is visible on the tunic. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (RGAKFD).
By the evening of July 28, 1938, units of the 59th Posietsky Red Banner Border Detachment had the following forces: there was a reserve outpost, a platoon of a maneuver group, a platoon of heavy machine guns and a group of sappers on Zaozernaya - a total of 80 people.
They were commanded by Senior Lieutenant E.S. Sidorenko, the commissioner was Lieutenant I.I. Funny. On Bezymyannaya, a border detachment of 11 people under the command of Lieutenant A.M. Makhalin, his assistant was junior commander T.M. Shlyakhov, who voluntarily joined the army.
At a height of 68.8, a heavy machine gun was installed to support the border guards on Bezymyannaya with fire; at a height of 304.0, a reinforced detachment (squad) took up the defense. The total number of frontier posts "Pakshekori" and "Podgornaya", located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Khasan, was 50 people. In addition, the 7th support company of the 119th rifle regiment of the 40th rifle division with a platoon of tanks under the command of Lieutenant D.T. Levchenko.
Two reinforced support battalions of the same division were stationed in the Zarechye area. Thus, in the area of Lake Khasan on July 28, 1938, up to three rifle battalions of border guards and Red Army soldiers opposed 12-13 enemy battalions.
64. Artillery platoon commanders of the 39th Corps Artillery Regiment clarify the firing sectors. In the background is a 76.2 mm gun model 1902/1930. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (AVL).
65. Lieutenant M.T. Lebedev, who was awarded the Order of the Red Star for the battles near Lake Khasan, tells his new crew how he smashed the Japanese invaders with his BT-7 tank. Central East, 2nd mechanized brigade (later - 42nd tank brigade), October 1938 (RGAKFD).
THE CAPTURE OF THE SOPKA ZAOZERNAYA AND THE HEIGHTS OF THE BEZIMYANNAYA (July 28-31, 1938)
66. Commanders and fighters of one of the battalions of the 78th Kazan Red Banner Rifle Regiment of the 26th Zlatoust Red Banner Rifle Division under the command of Captain M.L. Svirin in the operational reserve near the village of Kraskino. Far Eastern Front, August 9, 1938 (RGAKFD).
The border posts of the Posietsky border detachment were intensively monitoring the adjacent strip, the alarm was transmitted to everyone - it was clear that they were preparing for something on the other side of the border. On the hill Zaozernaya in the trenches was up to a company of border guards. At the neighboring height of Bezymyannaya there are 11 border guards led by the assistant chief of the Podgornaya outpost, Lieutenant Alexei Makhalin, who has not left the hill for several days. All armament of the border post on Bezymyannaya consisted of ten rifles, a light machine gun and grenades.
At 15.00 on July 29, through the dissipating fog, the border guards saw how 2 Japanese detachments, up to an infantry company, were moving right on the Bezymyannaya hill. Lieutenant Makhalin reported on the developing situation to the outpost and to the neighboring Zaozernaya height on the field telephone.
By order of the Japanese officer who commanded the detachment, a large-caliber machine gun hit the top of Bezymyannaya. The border guards responded with rifle volleys only when the attacking line of Japanese infantry, shouting "Banzai", crossed the line of the state border and ended up on Soviet territory. Having ascertained this, the senior lieutenant of the border post, Makhalin, gave the command: "Fire at the raiders!"
Eleven heroes-border guards courageously met the enemy. Alexander Savinykh killed 5 Japanese with five shots. Roman Lisnyak, wounded in right hand, hastily bandaging the wound, fired at the enemy. But the forces of the border guards were fading. Ivan Shmelev and Vasily Pozdeev died. Bleeding, the border guards fought back with bayonets, butts, grenades. The wounded lieutenant Makhalin did not stop directing the battle for a minute. He managed to give Senior Lieutenant P.F. Tereshkin, who was at the field headquarters of the detachment on Zaozernaya: "A large detachment of the Japanese crossed the state border ... We will fight to the death. Revenge us!"
Head of the border outpost "Podgornaya" of the Posyet detachment P.F. Tereshkin offered to support Makhalin's group with heavy machine gun fire. But the head of the political department of the border district, divisional commissar Bogdanov, and the head of the Posyet border detachment, Colonel K.E. Grebennik, who were present at the NP (Zaozernaya), refused him this, citing possible Japanese retaliatory actions in the region of the Zaozernaya height, and then left for Posyet.
To help Lieutenant Makhalin, 2 squads were sent under the command of Chernopyatko and Batarshin (I.V. Ratnikov's group). Apparently a little later, border guards under the command of G. Bykhovtsev, a support company of 119 joint ventures with a platoon of T-26 tanks under the command of Lieutenant D.T. Levchenko. However, it was already too late.
The Japanese squeezed the ring more and more tightly ... The only way out remained - to break through the enemy chains in hand-to-hand combat. During the breakthrough, Alexander Makhalin, Alexander Savinykh and David Yemtsov were killed. Subsequently, under fire, taking their wounded and killed, the attackers withdrew to their territory. They were not pursued.
On the same day, July 29 at 19.20, the following report was sent from the headquarters of the border and internal troops of the Far Eastern District via a direct wire: "Colonel Fedotov, located on the Zaozernaya height, reported at 18.20 that the Nameless height was occupied by us. Lieutenant Makhalin was found dead at the height and 4 wounded Red Army soldiers were found. 7 people have not yet been found at all. The Japanese retreated in the fog and settled about 3400 meters from the border line ... "The fact of an armed breakthrough of the state border - the Japanese attack on Bezymyanny height was immediately reported to the headquarters of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front. Marshal V.K. Blucher gave an order that said: “The Japanese advancing on our territory in the area north of the Zaozernaya height should be immediately destroyed on our territory without crossing the border ... Pay attention to the firm hold of this mountain in our hands and immediately take measures to establish artillery on fire positions with the task of blocking the enemy from any kind of advance into our territory.‹9›
67. Participant in the battles near Lake Khasan, captain of the sapper units of the 39th rifle corps N.V. Sherstnev.
By the evening of July 30, in accordance with the order of the representative of the command of the KDF, Colonel Fedotov, the defense area of the Khasansky sector by the border guards and units of the Red Army was built as follows: the northern slope of Zaozernaya (the right flank of the defense) was occupied by the Podgornaya frontier post, reinforced with a half-platoon and an anti-tank battery of 118 joint ventures (commander - head of the frontier post P.F. Tereshkin); in the center and on the southern slope of Zaozernaya (left flank) there was a reserve outpost of S.Ya. Khristolyubov and a maneuverable group, reinforced by a platoon of heavy machine guns led by S.E. Sidorenko, north of the left flank of the defense there was a reinforced squad, led by junior commander G.A. Batarshin, which covered the rear of our defense. At the nameless height, a rifle company dug in with a platoon of T-26 tanks under the command of D.T. Levchenko and a group of border guards G. Bykhovtsev. At a height of 62.1, a support company of 119 joint ventures, reinforced by an anti-tank artillery battery and a platoon of tanks, and a unit of border guards Lieutenant Kurdyukov took up the defense.
Each of the heights was an independent stronghold. Between the heights of Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya, the main forces of 118 joint ventures occupied the defense, having in front of them military guards from rifle and machine-gun platoons and a detachment of border guards I.V. Ratnikov. At a height of 68.8, a rifle platoon of support of 118 joint ventures and a machine-gun platoon were concentrated, and in the area of \u200b\u200bNovoselka - Pakshekori, a rifle battalion of 119 joint ventures of the 40th rifle division took up positions.
68. Border guards from the reserve outpost S.Ya. Khristolyubov train in throwing grenades. Lake Hassan area, July 1938 (AVL).
69. The first marshals of the Soviet Union. Sitting (from left to right): M.N. Tukhachevsky, K.E. Voroshilov, A.I. Egorov. Standing: S.M. Budyonny and V.K. Blucher. 1935 (AVL).
On the evening of July 30, Japanese artillery shelled the tops of the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills, trying to destroy the border guards' trenches and barbed wire. With the beginning of the next day - around 2.00, under the cover of the night crown, the Japanese infantry in large forces (up to two infantry regiments), line by line, began to attack these border heights.
The battle for Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya was notable for heavy losses among the defenders and attackers. The attackers were supported with their fire by several artillery batteries. Soviet border guards and Red Army soldiers more than once rose from the trenches in bayonet counterattacks, dropping enemy infantrymen who burst onto their peaks onto the slopes of the hills. The defense was directly led by the commander of the Posyet border detachment K.E. Comb.
However, the forces of the parties were clearly not equal. The defenders suffered losses from enemy shells. By the end of the day, the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills were in the hands of the Japanese, who immediately began to strengthen their positions.
Within three days, the heights were covered with a web of deep trenches, in front of which wire barriers were installed in 3-4 rows. Machine-gun platforms, dugouts, trenches, firing positions for artillery, anti-tank ditches were hastily equipped, the approaches to the hills were mined. Armored caps for machine-gun and artillery nests, mortars, and observation posts were installed at the heights. Especially a lot of machine gun nests were at a height to the left of Zaozernaya, so later it was called Machine Gun Hill (Gorka). Japanese snipers hid behind the stones. On the sandy river islands and beyond the Tumen-Ula river, heavy artillery was stationed. The enemy kept under fire all the approaches to the heights.
The remaining defenders of the heights retreated to the opposite shore of Lake Khasan. There they began to gain a foothold in the field positions. The Japanese did not pursue them and did not begin to develop their tactical success. The plans of their command, apparently, did not include advancement further.
The enemy lost 257 soldiers and officers only in the region of the Zaozernaya height. Of the 94 border guards defending the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills, 13 people were killed and 70 wounded. Most of those fighters who received combat wounds remained in the ranks after dressing. In addition to genuine military prowess and readiness to fight to the end, this first battle for the border heights also showed an example of a different kind.
The company of the 118th Infantry Regiment, sent to help the fighting border guards, was not only late in time, but arrived at the scene with blank cartridges and wooden grenades. Its commanders took the combat alarm for the usual training and with such a "weapon" entered into a real battle. Border guards shared ammunition for rifles with the army, although they themselves were already running out of ammunition.
70. T-26 from the tank battalion of the 32nd rifle division of the Red Army. The tanks are camouflaged by engineering means. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (RGAKFD).
71. The commander of the BT-7 tank platoon, Lieutenant M.T. Lebedev, who was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his distinction in battles on Lake Khasan. 2nd mechanized brigade, August 1938 (AVL).
BATTLE AT LAKE KHASAN (August 2 - 4, 1938)
72. T-26 tanks of the tank battalion of the 40th rifle division of the Red Army disguised with bunches of grass in the field. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (AVL).
August 1, 1938 I.V. Stalin and K.E. Voroshilov gave an order to V.K. Blucher in a short time to destroy the Japanese and their material part. In accordance with this, V.K. Blucher ordered commander G.M. Stern to attack the enemy on August 1, without waiting for the approach of all troops, with the forces of the 40th Infantry Division. However, the units of the division, which made a difficult march, only by the evening of August 1 took up the starting position for the offensive. As a result, the attack failed. Arrived at the command post of the 40th Infantry Division G.M. Stern ordered the attack to be postponed to 2 August. The command of the division was given only one night to prepare for the attack of the Zaozernaya and Nameless divisions.
The Japanese fought the first battles with the forces of their 19th Infantry Division of the Korean Army, at the same time pulling up the 15th and 20th Infantry Divisions, a mechanized brigade, a cavalry regiment, and artillery to the Posyet border detachment sector - up to 38 thousand people in total. In addition, for possible fire support of the Japanese ground forces(if the fighting moves south, to the sea coast), a detachment of Japanese ships consisting of one cruiser, 14 destroyers and 15 military boats approached the mouth of the border river Tumangan.
The 40th Rifle Division's offensive against Japanese positions on Soviet territory began at dawn on 2 August. The main blow was delivered from the north by the forces of the 119th and 120th rifle regiments. The second blow, an auxiliary one, was delivered from the south by the forces of the 118th Infantry Regiment, which supported the tank battalion. The main goal of the attack was the Bezymyannaya height.
Rifle battalions had to advance along a narrow swampy strip between Lake Khasan and the state border. This created great difficulties and entailed unnecessary, unjustified losses in people. But the order to fight with all severity demanded from commanders and fighters: in no case should they violate the state border of Manchukuo.
The attack of Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya was hastily prepared and carried out without artillery support because of the fear that shells might fall on the other side of the state border. By the end of the day on August 2, the 119th Rifle Regiment, having crossed the ford and swam Lake Khasan, came out under heavy Japanese fire on the northeastern slopes of Zaozernaya Hill. Tired and wet, the Red Army soldiers under heavy fire from the Japanese (their artillery fired) were forced to lie down and dig in. The attack of the regiment bogged down.
The attack of the 120th Infantry Regiment, which captured the eastern slopes of Bezymyannaya Hill, turned out to be just as unsuccessful. The 119th Infantry Regiment also failed to fulfill the assigned combat mission. The attackers suffered heavy losses in people. A participant in the Khasan battles, the commander of the rifle battalion, Captain Stezhenko, recalled the attack on August 2: “Our battalion advanced on the Japanese through the southern ledge, with the task of occupying Zaozernaya. Before us lay a space of 150 meters, completely braided with wire and under crossfire. In the same position there were our units advancing through the northern ledge to Bezymyannaya ... We could deal with the presumptuous enemy much faster if we violated the border and took possession of the trenches, bypassing them on the Manchurian territory. But our units accurately followed the order of the command and acted within our territory "
On the battlefield, a "marching" diary of a Japanese non-commissioned officer "of the Sato unit, Kamura unit" was found. Here is how he described the battles on Lake Khasan:
Heavy enemy shells are constantly bursting at our positions. At 14.00 enemy planes appeared above us and dropped bombs. Heavy bombers flew in, dropped huge bombs.
Being at the height of Chaskufu (Zaozernaya), trenches were dug all night from August 1 to August 2. Enemy tanks began to attack on the height. Something terrible happened that day. Bombs and shells were constantly exploding. We ran across every now and then, it was impossible to think about food. From noon on the first of August, they did not eat anything for a day and a half. The fight continued. I managed to eat only cucumbers and drink dirty water. Today is a sunny day, but the sun was not visible during the day. The mood is depressed. I feel disgusting. It's unbearable to fight like that.
They dug trenches. During the recording, a shell exploded. Very tired. Headache. Slept a little. The enemy artillery fired heavily. Huge shells are exploding on our positions ... "(The diary entry ends here.)
The haste of the offensive of the 40th Infantry Division, which had not yet had time to fully pull itself up to the state border, was dictated, first of all, by frequent orders from above. They did not control the situation on the battlefield and were in a hurry to report to Moscow, to the Kremlin, to Comrade Stalin about the victory on Lake Khasan. Here is how the events of August 2 are assessed in the "brief description of the Khasan operation" compiled by the headquarters of the Far East Military District: "... the 40th Infantry Division was completing its concentration by the morning of August 2 and on August 2 received the task of striking the enemy and capturing the area Bezymyanny height - height Zaozernaya. Here, undoubtedly, haste was shown. The current situation did not require such a quick action, besides, a significant part of the commanders of both divisions (artillery) and tank battalions were deprived of the opportunity to carry out reconnaissance before dark on August 1 and organize interaction on the ground. as a result of this haste, by 7 o'clock on August 2 (by the time the offensive began), part of the artillery that arrived at night was not ready, the position of the enemy, especially his forward edge, were not studied; the connection did not have time to fully deploy, the left flank of the battle formation could not launch an offensive at the hour appointed by order ... "‹10›
The next day, August 3, the 40th Rifle Division, having not achieved success, began to withdraw from the battle. Its withdrawal to its original positions took place under heavy Japanese fire. Only by 15 o'clock in the afternoon the battalions of the division reached their designated concentration areas.
At the location of the rifle division that had retreated from the heights, the head of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, he was also Deputy People's Commissar of Defense L. Mekhlis, was already "acting" with might and main. The sovereign Stalinist emissary interfered with the orders of the commander of the Far Eastern Front, giving his own orders. And most importantly - Mehlis hastily created a court and reprisal.
As early as June 31, the same Mekhlis reported to Moscow: "... a real dictator is needed in the battle area, to whom everything would be subordinated." "Illuminated" Marshal of the Soviet Union V.K. Blucher was no longer suitable for this purpose: the fate of the famous red commander of the Civil War was a foregone conclusion.
Evidence of this is the same order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.E. Voroshilov No. 0040 of September 4, 1938: "Even after receiving instructions from the Government to stop fussing with all sorts of commissions and investigations ... Comrade Blucher does not change his defeatist position and continues to sabotage the organization of an armed rebuff to the Japanese. Things have come to the point that 1 August of this year, when talking on a direct wire Comrades Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov with Comrade Blucher, Comrade Stalin was forced to ask him a question: "Tell me, Comrade Blucher, honestly, do you have a desire to really fight the Japanese ? If you don’t have such a desire, say it straight out, as befits a communist, and if you have a desire, I would think that you should go to the place immediately.”‹11›
August 3 People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union K.E. Voroshilov decides to entrust the leadership of military operations in the area of Lake Khasan to the chief of staff of the Far Eastern Front, commander G.M. Stern, appointing him concurrently commander of the 39th Rifle Corps. Thus, the front commander, Marshal V.K. Blucher was actually removed from the direct leadership of the hostilities on the state border.
By that time, the 39th Rifle Corps included the 32nd, 40th, 26th, 39th Rifle Divisions and the 2nd Mechanized Brigade, as well as parts of the corps reinforcement. At the same time, the entire 1st Combined Arms Army, which was defending Primorye, was put on alert.
73. A group of pilots of the 1st Primorsky Army, who distinguished themselves in battles on Lake Khasan. August 1938 (AVL).
74. Deputy commander of the Far Eastern Fleet no aviation brigade commander P.V. Rychagov and Colonel A.V. Volodin is inspecting the battlefields. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (AVL).
RELEASE OF THE HEIGHTS OF ZAZERNOYA AND UNNAMED (August 6-11, 1938)
75. Japanese positions of 150-mm guns abandoned by the enemy in the area of Lake Khasan. August 1938 (AVL).
There was still an opportunity to end the military conflict near Lake Khasan by peaceful negotiations. Tokyo quickly realized that a victorious battle of local significance for two border hills could result in a much wider armed confrontation. But the main forces of the imperial army at that time were not in Manchukuo, but were conducting military operations against Chiang Kai-shek China. Therefore, it was decided to localize the border armed conflict on favorable terms.
On August 4, the Japanese ambassador in Moscow, M. Shigemitsu, told the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, M.M. Litvinov about the readiness of the Japanese government to start negotiations to resolve the border conflict. Ambassador Shigemitsu knew that his empire could well fan the fire of a great warrior from a position of strength.
The Soviet government expressed its readiness for such negotiations, but on a mandatory condition - the Japanese troops must be withdrawn from the occupied border territory. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs M.M. Litvinov told the Japanese ambassador:
"By restoring the situation, I meant the situation that existed before July 29, that is, until the date when the Japanese troops crossed the border and began to occupy the Bezymyanny and Zaozernaya heights ..."
Tokyo, self-confident, did not agree with such conditions of the Soviet side. Its Moscow ambassador M. Shigemitsu suggested returning to the border before July 11 - that is, before the appearance of the notorious trenches on the top of Zaozernaya.
However, such a proposal by the Japanese side was belated for one weighty reason. TASS has already broadcast an official report that Japanese troops have captured Soviet territory "to a depth of 4 kilometers." However, in reality, such a "depth of capture" simply did not exist. Throughout the Soviet country there were crowded protest rallies, the participants of which demanded to curb the presumptuous aggressor.
On August 5, TASS circulated the response of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs M.M. Litvinov to the Japanese ambassador in Moscow: "The Soviet peoples will not put up with the presence of foreign troops even on a piece of Soviet land and will not stop at any sacrifice in order to liberate it."
In a matter of days, the parties built up large forces in the battlefield. On August 5, the defenses on the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya hills were held, having second-echelon troops in the immediate rear, the Japanese 19th Infantry Division, an infantry brigade, 2 artillery regiments and separate reinforcement units, including 3 machine-gun battalions, with a total number of up to 20 thousand human. If necessary, these forces could be significantly strengthened.
The Japanese in the area of border heights were directly opposed by the Soviet 40th and 32nd (commanders - Colonels V.K. Bazarov and N.E. Berzarin) rifle divisions, the 2nd separate mechanized brigade (commander - Colonel A.P. Panfilov) , rifle regiment of the 39th rifle division, 121st cavalry and 39th corps artillery regiments. In total, they numbered 32,860 people. In the air, the offensive of the Soviet troops were ready to support 180 bombers and 70 fighters. Ships, aviation, coastal defense and rear units of the Pacific Fleet were in a state of readiness.
The offensive operation on the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya heights was prepared according to all the rules of military art. Moscow, represented by Stalin and the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR Voroshilov, hurried with its implementation.
On August 5, 1938, a new military doctrine of the USSR was formulated and approved. Instead of "little blood and a mighty blow" - "victory at any cost." The Hassan events were her first test in practice.
On the same day, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Marshal Voroshilov, sent a directive to Blucher and Stern - to dislodge the Japanese troops from the height of Zaozernaya, using the flanks. That is, the troops of the Far Eastern Front were allowed to cross the state border in the upcoming offensive operation. And, accordingly, invade the territory of the neighboring state of Manchukuo.
The Soviet command appointed the general offensive in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya heights for August 6 (the day of the 9th anniversary of OKDVA. - Note.ed.). It was planned to carry out artillery preparation by the forces of three artillery regiments, as well as to support and cover ground units from the air. The implementation of the operation required, firstly, a triple superiority in the number of our advancing infantry and means of suppression; secondly, a sudden and simultaneous attack. It was necessary to determine the least protected sections of the fortified zone and seize it, if possible, by a roundabout maneuver, and not head-on.
The difficulty was that only 2 rifle divisions, the 40th and 32nd, and the tanks and self-propelled guns that supported them, actually participated in the liquidation of the Japanese adventure. At the expense of 6 regiments of these divisions, it was also necessary to allocate forces to ensure both open flanks.
The combat order of the commander of the 40th Infantry Division, Colonel V. Bazarov, who fought on Lake Khasan from the first to last day, was given to the regiments on the morning of August 6. It read: "... the 40th rifle division, attacking the Japanese-Manchu ..., has the main task of destroying the enemy together with the 32nd rifle division in the Zaozernaya area, capturing and firmly securing the Zaozernaya height ..."
Before the offensive, the 32nd Rifle Division appealed to the 40th with an appeal: "For the best solution to the problem, we are calling the 40th Rifle Division to a socialist competition: who will be the first to put the Soviet flag on the Zaozernaya hill, polluted by a samurai boot."
At dawn on August 6, the Soviet assault units took up their original positions. At night, under heavy rain, a reconnaissance of the area was carried out, the location of Japanese positions was clarified, and issues of interaction between rifle units, artillery, tanks and aircraft were worked out.
The bombing strikes of our aviation were to serve as a signal for the offensive of the 39th Rifle Corps formations. However, due to low cloud cover and rain, the departure of aircraft in the morning was delayed. In this regard, the time of the attack was also postponed.
When the sky became clear and the fog cleared, the command of the 39th Rifle Corps took their places at the observation post located at a height of 194.0. Here were V.K. Blucher, head of the Political Directorate of the Red Army L.Z. Mekhlis and member of the Military Council of the Front P.I. Mazepov.
The offensive of the Soviet troops on the enemy positions on Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya began on August 6 at 16.00. The first blow was delivered by Soviet aviation - 180 bombers under the cover of 70 fighters. The operation was led by brigade commander P.V. Levers. 1592 air bombs with a total weight of 122 tons were dropped from TB-3 heavy bombers on enemy positions on the heights and behind them.
The second wave of aircraft consisted of dozens of fighters. From a strafing flight, they began to process enemy positions. Soviet pilots demoralized the enemy, inflicted heavy losses on him in manpower and equipment.
After an air raid on the heights and on the places of the alleged concentration of Japanese reserves, an artillery fire raid was carried out. Thousands of shells fell on the heights, destroying the firing positions of the Japanese, breaking dugouts and shelters, covering trenches and communication passages with earth and stones.
The division of coastal artillery guns of the Pacific Fleet under the command of Lieutenant Volgushev dispersed with well-aimed concentrated fire and partly destroyed significant concentrations of infantry on the slopes of the Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya heights.
At 17.00, after artillery preparation, with the support of tank battalions of the 2nd mechanized brigade, rifle units went on the offensive and started fighting for the heights. The tankers surged forward. Steep stone slopes made it difficult to advance, and two narrow passages (15–20 m wide) between the lake and the hills hampered maneuvering. The attackers were immediately met by heavy rifle and machine-gun fire. From the Korean (Homoku village) territory, several enemy artillery batteries concentrated their fire on a small area of the ensuing battle.
And yet the tanks stubbornly moved forward. They walked along a narrow, swampy isthmus between Lake Khasan and the Tumen-Ula River. The nameless hill was a serious obstacle on their way. From here, in order to cover the approaches from the flank, the enemy fired concentrated fire from anti-tank guns and heavy machine guns. The Japanese hit the vehicles with direct fire, but the Soviet tanks, using the uneven terrain, continued to move to the heights. With fire and caterpillars, they destroyed wire obstacles, broke into the location of the Japanese, overturning military equipment on the move, shooting infantry.
Simultaneously with the tanks, the battalions of the 96th Infantry Regiment were rapidly moving forward. At 18.00, as a result of a bayonet attack, they occupied the northeastern slopes of Bezymyannaya. At the same time, units of the 118th Infantry Regiment, with the support of tanks, circled Lake Khasan from the west and attacked Zaozernaya. At the same time, the 119th Infantry Regiment was rounding Khasan from the north. Having mastered the eastern slopes of Bezymyannaya, he went on the offensive against Zaozernaya. At 22.00, Lieutenant Korolev's platoon reached its foot, and half an hour later the regiments' attack from the flanks ended with a swift bayonet strike, and part of the Zaozernaya height was liberated from the invaders.
The distribution and combat strength of the tank units of the 39th Rifle Corps on August 6, 1938‹12›
Combined arms formations | Tank units and divisions | Combat composition of tank units and divisions (T-26 / BT-5, BT-7) | Total tanks ||
32 sd | 32 reb | 48 / – | 48 ||
32 sd | 3 tb 2 mbr | 50 / 6 | 56 ||
40 sd | 40 rebate | 42 / – | 42 ||
40 sd | 2 tb 2 mbr | 51/6 | 57 ||
40 sd | tank. reconnaissance company. 2 mbr | – / 19 | 19 ||
Reserve 39 sk | 2 mbr (without 2 and 3 TB and tank, reconnaissance battalion companies) | 66 / 63 | 129||
Total: | |257 / 94 | 351||
* 129 tanks were left in the reserve of the corps commander, of which 15 122-mm self-propelled guns SU-5-2 were subsequently involved in hostilities, as well as a control group of 2 mbr, led by Colonel A.P. Panfilov on BT tanks (radio).
However, having pulled up reserves, the enemy launched a counterattack. The depleted units of the 40th Infantry Division fought off the fierce onslaught of the Japanese with difficulty. A critical situation has arisen. Then the regimental commissar Z.F. Ivanchenko and the head of the political department, battalion commissar N. Polushkin, gathered all the reserves of the division and led them into battle. The Japanese retreated.
A fierce battle on the nearest approaches to the heights and on the slopes of the hills continued until late at night.
About the events of August 6 in the "Brief description of the Khasan operation", compiled by the headquarters of the border and internal troops Far Eastern District, the following is said: “Since the issue of invading enemy territory was positively resolved, the right flank of the advancing units of the 32nd Infantry Division captured the Chernaya height, and the left flank of the 40th Infantry Division captured Homoku. Due to bad weather, the departure of the aircraft was delayed , and the infantry offensive actually began on August 6 at about 5 pm Around midnight, units of the 118th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division reached the southern part of the crest of the Zaozernaya height and hoisted a red flag on it (its photograph appeared on the pages of all central Soviet newspapers) ... The enemy still managed to hold on that day the northern part of the ridge of the Zaozernaya height and the ridge of the Bezymyannaya height ... "‹13›
At dawn on August 7, the battles for the Zaozernaya height resumed. The Japanese tried to regain lost positions. Pulling up significant reserves, they launched 20 fierce counterattacks during the day. Letting the enemy in 100 - 200 m, the Soviet fighters swept away his chains with hurricane fire. “On Zaozernaya,” G.M. Stern reported, “it’s hard to raise your head ... Now the height is the main center of attraction for all types of Japanese fire around the clock. Last night 4 attacks were repulsed in the sector of the 118th regiment and 1 attack in the sector of the 96th regiment There were also several attacks this afternoon. All of them were repulsed ... ".
On this day, the enemy suffered significant losses, but did not succeed.
The battles for the heights continued on 8 and 9 August. On the third day of the fighting, units of the 40th Infantry Division captured almost the entire long ridge (except for its northern part) of the Zaozernaya hill. The next day, the regiments of the 32nd Infantry Division, persistently attacking, captured the Bezymyannaya height. The Japanese in the battle area retained only small, well-fortified heights Chernaya, Machine-gun Gorka (the height got its name for the abundance of machine-gun nests on it) and Bogomolnaya. Artillery fire was directed not only at Japanese positions on the heights, but also at the Korean village of Homoku, where enemy batteries were in firing positions.
76. Japanese positions of 150-mm guns abandoned by the enemy in the area of Lake Khasan. August 1938 (AVL).
The Japanese government requested a truce. As early as August 7, 1938, the Japanese ambassador in Moscow, visiting M.M. Litvinov, assured him of the intentions of the Japanese government to resolve the incident in the area of Lake Khasan. MM. Litvinov categorically rejected the Japanese ambassador's proposal to establish the border according to the maps presented by the command of the Kwantung Army, pointing out that "no agreement is possible if even an insignificant Japanese military unit remains on Soviet territory." He outlined our conditions: "The hostilities cease after both sides ... withdraw their troops, if they were on the other side of this line by the time of the agreement. Such a line is recognized as the border shown on the map attached to the Hongchun agreement, and thus the situation that existed on July 29, that is, before the first entry of Japanese troops into Soviet territory, will be restored. Upon the onset of calm on the border, a bilateral commission leaves there and proceeds on the spot to redemarcate the border established by the Hunchun Agreement."
However, the Japanese did not accept the demands of the Soviet government. They began to pull up new units to Lake Khasan. In a few days, 46 echelons with troops and equipment were transferred here.
On August 8, the Soviet command became aware that the enemy was pulling up forces, including aircraft and tanks, concentrating them along the border line in the Khanka direction.
The Soviet units were immediately reinforced by the 115th Infantry Regiment with a tank company. On August 9, the 78th Kazan Red Banner and 176th rifle regiments of the 26th Zlatoust Red Banner rifle division were brought up to the area of the village of Kraskino.
On this day, the Japanese troops, having received reinforcements, planned to go on the offensive in the Zaozernaya area. However, the troops of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front on the morning of August 8, ahead of the enemy, launched a counteroffensive. The enemy, throwing significant forces into the attack, occupied Zaozernaya. But the 96th Rifle Regiment counterattacked the Japanese and knocked them out from a height.
77. Soviet commanders and gunsmiths inspect Japanese small arms. On the left, the colonel is dressed in a raincoat for command personnel, introduced in 1931. Lake Khasan area, August 1938 (RGAKFD).
About the fierce battles on August 9 on Lake Khasan, the message from the headquarters of the 1st Primorsky Army said: “On August 9, Japanese troops again launched a series of attacks on the Zaozernaya (Chashkufu) height occupied by our troops. The Japanese troops were driven back with heavy losses for them. The location of our troops pass along the border line, with the exception of the Bezymyannaya height area, where the Japanese troops wedged into our territory by two hundred meters, and our troops, in turn, wedged into the Japanese-Manchu territory by three hundred meters. Artillery skirmish continues throughout the sector. "
Komkor G.M. Stern (repressed, like the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Marshal V.K. Blucher. - Note.ed.) wrote about the battles near Lake Khasan, which were fought in incredibly difficult conditions for the advancing side: “There was no way to hide the place and direction of our attack ... Possessing Zaozernaya and Bezymyannaya, the Japanese looked down from top to bottom the entire area where the Red Army was located and all the ways to this area. They could count every one of our guns, every tank, almost every person... The possibility ... of any kind of maneuver for the Red Army units was completely absent ... It was possible to attack only ... directly in the forehead of the Japanese positions ... For three days, from 7 until August 9, there were heavy battles to liberate Soviet land from the invaders.
On August 10, the regular meeting of the Japanese ambassador in Moscow, M. Shigemitsu, with representatives of the Soviet government took place. The conflicting parties agreed through diplomatic channels to cease fire and restore the status quo on the border of the USSR with Manchukuo. The next day, August 11, at 12 noon, hostilities near Lake Khasan were stopped. According to the agreement, the Soviet troops, as well as the Japanese, remained on the line, which they occupied on August 10 at 2400 local time.
The first meeting of military representatives of both sides to fix the position of the troops took place south of the Zaozernaya height on the same August 11th. However, it was not without overlaps. A TASS report on this matter stated:
"At the first meeting of the military representatives of the USSR and Japan on August 11 of this year, the military representatives of the USSR stated that, despite the cessation of hostilities at 13.30 on August 11 (local time), part of the Japanese troops violated the ceasefire agreement and, taking advantage of the ceasefire, moved forward by 100 meters and occupied part of the northern slope of the Zaozernaya height.Despite the protest of the military representatives of the USSR and their demand for the immediate withdrawal of Japanese troops to their previous positions, the Japanese military representatives categorically refused to fulfill this legal demand. 4-5 meters, and an armed clash could spontaneously arise again at any moment, the military representatives of both sides decided on the spot to mutually withdraw the troops of each side in this sector 80 meters back.Upon receipt of this report, the Soviet command in the Far East in accordance with the prisoner the armistice agreement gave the races an order for the immediate return of our units to their previous positions, which they occupied at 24 hours on August 10, and proposed to demand from the Japanese representatives the withdrawal of Japanese troops. This order was exactly carried out by our troops ... ".
The military conflict near Lake Khasan did not continue. The Japanese command withdrew its troops from the patch of occupied Soviet territory surprisingly slowly the diplomats of the two states. On the northern part of the ridge of the Zaozernaya height, the Japanese "lingered" until August 13. And on the heights - Machine Gun Hill, Chernaya and Bogomolnaya until August 15. On August 13, a mutual exchange of dead bodies took place.
76. Students of the Academy of the Red Army named after M.V. Frunze (from right to left): Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel D.D. Pogodin, Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel A.I. Rodimtsev and a participant in the battles near Lake Khasan, order bearer-lieutenant M.F. Potapov. Moscow, autumn 1938 (AVL).
